Racer

Igor Teeken has been a motorcycle addict for as long as he can remember. “I was drawing motorcycles with my friend Jos Deckers in primary school; a hardtail Harley as I recall.” In his pre-teen mind, that was the absolute coolest bike he could think of. “Then I bought my first bike on my 17th birthday…”

In the last ten years old Moto Guzzis have gone through a stratospheric increase in value. Big block 70’s and 80’s models now command prices that would have been laughable a decade ago. The secret’s out – and now people realize what a great base they are for a killer custom build…

As you first set foot in “The Race Track” at the Haas Moto Museum, an oblong-shaped chamber dedicated to speed merchants that span over a century from a 1904 Peugeot to a 2017 Grand Prix Suter, you are greeted by a panel that reads in part: “In a moving tribute to the world-renowned free-diver Nicholas Mevoli”…

Bottpower are a Spanish custom shop that make parts for high performance twins. Carbon fibre tanks and seats, perfectly machined triple clamps and even entire frames. Much of their work ended up on their iconic Pikes Hill motorcycle in 2017. It was fast, it handled like a dream and it was gorgeous…

It is home to the 21st century’s most vibrant and powerful economy, with millions of high tech products created there every single day. Yet China is also a land with a rich history, a remarkable culture many millennia old and Confucianism that has spread great wisdom to the world…

If you haven’t heard of the new Royal Enfield 650 GT – welcome. I hope life has been comfortable for you under your rock. Feast your bleary eyes on the new platform that’s going to become a staple of the custom scene over the next twenty years…

LA’s Kott Motorcycles are the clinicians of the bike-building word. They produce hospital-grade builds so clean you could eat off them. Each one of their cafe-inspired builds is a masterclass of balance, proportion and build quality. This time around they’ve tackled a smaller offering…

I can pick a Lucky Custom’s motorcycle a mile away. They’re one of the most distinctive custom builders in the world. Over the last few years the Argentinian shop has produced some of the craziest, most genre-bending trackers, choppers, bobbers and cafe racers…

The 1980s sure was a different time, and in an era of minimal rules and regulations motorsport was full of radical prototypes and financed largely by big tobacco. Greed was good, there were gnarly designs and Gurney flaps, and companies like Gitanes and Marlboro were branded everywhere…

As modern retros go, Kawasaki hit the nail on the head with their re-imagining of the W series bikes from the ’60s. In fact, the ‘new’ W’s bevel driven twin cylinder engine is even more of a classic than the original. But as an overall package they’ve always needed a little more panache…